Driving a car for too long without taking proper care of it is a recipe for disaster. This is a recipe I know by heart. Car trouble has seemed to follow me my whole life! My last car was no exception. It had been in the shop for overheating, the engine leaking oil, the air conditioner completely quitting, the heat blowing on full blast at all times, the driver-side window completely falling off the track and down into the door while I was driving on the highway. The list goes on and on. During one of the car’s routine breakdowns, I took it to the local mechanic. After a few days of tuning and tweaking, he was ready for me to come and pick it up. I was elated at the idea of having my vehicle in working condition again. I had such high hopes. This time was going to be the time that all was made right. I couldn’t wait to pay and get out on the road again. After settling the bill, the mechanic gave me a “your troubles aren’t over yet” look, put his arm on my shoulder, and led me out to where my car was parked. Fear struck me to the core.  What could be wrong now? How much longer until this hunk of metal was fixed? He directed my attention to the front tire on the passenger side and said, “My friend, that tire right there is going to blow at any moment!” Apparently the car’s alignment was way off causing my tire to erode down to the metal. With a sigh I tossed my keys back to him and told him I’d see him next week.

Just like a car getting off alignment and causing damage, a misaligned vision can easily cause an extensive amount of damage. We all need a leadership alignment to get back to what really matters, even when you are renting one of the mobile homes in Pennsylvania(http://www.weinerestates.com/) for vacation, like I did. I am amazed at how many employees are completely oblivious to their organizations vision statements. Their vision has gotten off track. If you polled the average company on how many of their employees can recite their core values and vision statements you would probably be shocked at the statistics. Many times vision statements are institutionalized within a poster on the wall rather than internalized within the hearts of the people.

But the reality is that vision leaks, and this causes people to easily forget the core values, mission, beliefs, and purpose of why they do what they do. When a team loses their why they will begin to lose their way. Government official Paul Nitze said, “One of the most dangerous forms of human error is forgetting what one is trying to achieve.” A leader’s job is to make sure that they themselves talk about the vision and values of the organization. Many times a team only hears about vision and values of their organization at a beginning of the year conference meeting, but then they never hear that vision and those values talked about again until next year’s meeting. When it comes to vision and values leaders have to say it, spray it, wheel it, deal it, and seal it. You have to help the vision stick in the heart of the people by being a great example of it. The greater your example is, the more the vision will adhere to people.